Teagan Byquist

Teagan Byquist - Washington
Nomination & Photography by Dan Duren Photography LLC
Issue 60 of Inspiring Teens Magazine
​

​Nomination: As a great volleyball athlete, Teagan Byquist continues to amaze me with her congeniality both on and off the court. She has built life-long friendships with athletes from all over the country and supports them whether she is playing alongside them or simply cheering from the sidelines. Teagan’s personality is one of kindness, humility, and eagerness to learn. Her smile lights up any environment and is highly contagious. Teagan’s love for others, God, and America is far more mature than I’ve seen in most students her age. All-around, she’s an amazing young lady who deserves recognition.

Photography by Dan Duren Photography LLC

What inspiring things about you does your nomination not cover?
I am a student athlete who just won junior class princess on homecoming court for my grade. I play volleyball for KBeach also known as Kahiau volleyball club. Kahiau stands for family and give without expecting anything in return. I believe the best way to success as a team is playing together and being like a family on and off the court. When I am not playing volleyball you will see me at the gym, helping with kids at church, and spending time with family and friends.

Tell us about your volleyball career. When did you get started and where are you with it now?
Volleyball is a huge part of my life. One of my passions. My volleyball career began 5 years ago. I have played 5 years of beach volleyball, 4 years of indoor club volleyball, and this is my 3rd year participating in high school volleyball. In indoor volleyball, I am an outside hitter and in beach volleyball I am a spit blocker. Currently, I am playing indoor and scheduling time in the future to travel for beach volleyball to participate in tournaments in various states.
With playing volleyball year-round brings a busy schedule. We train all year and travel for tournaments. In the future, I want to play beach volleyball in college.

What is your favorite thing about the sport?
Volleyball has brought many meaningful friendships into my life and allowed me to travel to places in the world I never thought of going to without tournaments. The thing I love about beach volleyball is how the players are in charge of all aspects and the coaches only coach on time outs. In high school volleyball, I love the celebration and student cheering section. The hype from the student section is always a lot of fun.

Photography by Dan Duren Photography LLC

What is your team like and where do you fit in?
My high school team and club teams are super close like a family. We spend a lot of time together on and off the courts. We are always having fun, trying to laugh, while continuing to compete at a high level and take things seriously. I am a very competitive athlete and try to be the best teammate by always cheering them on and sharing in their successes. Being part of our travel elite beach team is a huge commitment and I love it!

What is a favorite memory and/or accomplishment from volleyball?
One of my favorite memories is from this past beach volleyball season. I am part of our elite beach team in Chelan, Washington and we had all finished our games expect for one pair. The rest of us went on the sidelines and cheered for them as they continued to compete and afterwards took photos in the Ocean. It was an amazing experience!

How did you find and why did you choose Dan Duren for your photographer? What was your experience like? What did you love most about it?
I first met my photographer Dan Duren at a Get Noticed Volleyball tournament in Arizona. I love the pictures he captures, his contagious positive attitude, and dedication to helping others. He is a ton of fun to be around. The first time we met we did a hilarious TikTok together.
At the first tournament, he captured some amazing action shots of me playing volleyball. After that, I saw him at several other tournaments. He travels all over too. This past summer, I was chosen to be one of his Under the Boardwalk models. The journey doing photo shoots with Dan is incredible. I chose Dan Duren for my photographer because he is funny, fun to be around, and takes the absolute best photographs. Dan captures beauty in action sports and when we do modeling photos. My experience with Dan Duren has been the best! I’m thankful for his leadership, friendship, and sense of humor. Our conversations outside of volleyball mean a lot to me. Doing photo shoots with Dan is an incredible experience. He is the best!

What did it mean to you to be chosen as junior class princess for homecoming court?
I have wanted to be Homecoming princess since I was a little girl. Being able to be princess means a lot to me and I was so excited to be chosen to represent my junior class this year. One of my good friends who is like a sister to me got to be princess her junior year as well and I love feeling like I’m following in her footsteps. I look up to her and she has been a great friend and role model to me for many years.

Photography by Dan Duren Photography LLC

​What is your favorite thing/s to do at the gym?
During my spare time, I enjoy going to the gym. I am a very active person and love the benefits from training at the gym. One thing I enjoy doing is definitely squats. Squats have always been my favorite since the beginning. Another one is deadlift. I enjoy doing these two lifts and enjoy tracing my progress as I work out and train at the gym.

How do you like spending your time with the kids at church?
Sundays are one of my favorite days. I enjoy spending time with the kids at church and being with them is a lot of fun. I spend some of my time in the Nursery room with children from 1 month -1 year. They are a joy to be with and run to me with big smiles and open arms. These kids are so cute. Working with them in the Nursery area at church is always a good time.

What is a favorite memory with your family?
My favorite memory with my family is going to PBR in Las Vegas. We went to PBR (Professional Bull Riding) in Vegas a year ago and spent time together at the event and exploring Las Vegas. The trip was only a few days, but we made a lot of memories together. Las Vegas was a lot of fun, especially because it was just my me and my parents. I am thankful for my family and all our adventures and time spent together.

Where would we most likely find you and your friends?
If I’m not on a beach volleyball court, the place my friends and I hangout a lot is the local park. The park is located on Lake Chelan. We enjoy hanging out because of the beach volleyball courts, large grass area to play sports or sit and visit, basketball courts, playground, and the beautiful lake.

Photography by Dan Duren Photography LLC

​What else would you like to talk about?
I would love to talk about the mission trips that I have been on to New Orleans and Alaska.

Tell us about these mission trips.
My first Missions Trip was to New Orleans. I went with 40 other teens from my church. This trip was life changing for me. It opened my eye to the conditions of the world around me and my love for service. After seeing how little other have, it really puts things into perspective and makes me even more grateful for all I have. We spent the week cleaning around the city, cleaning out and repainting a house, having lunch and visiting with the homeless and spending time worshiping. I found that this trip allowed me to connect with Jesus on a deeper level, step out of my comfort zone, and truly focus on the needs of others while strengthening my faith.

This past summer, I traveled to Kenai/Soldotna Alaska with a group of 40 people from my church. When I was there, I was able to spend time with local families helping around their homes. During this week, I also spent cutting down trees, deliming trees, helping put on a sports camp and teach various sports to kids, teaching volleyball and many more things. I learned a lot and got closer to God. In the evenings, we participated in amazing worship nights that allowed a lot of us to open up, it was truly amazing! During these trips I not only have become closer to God but have built lasting friendships and incredible memories. I am grateful for my relationship with Jesus and the opportunities of these Missions Trips.

If you were to present a topic to a group of your peers, what would it be and why?
If I were to do a presentation in front of my peers, I would present on the feelings through a mission's trip. I would discuss what all we do that people don't see along with the friendships made with others, the spiritual connection made with God and how close we can get to him in just a week by serving others, reading, and worship.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to be where you are today?
As a Christian, the most important thing in my life is my faith. Trust God. He has a plan for you and is always by your side. Seek a relationship with God. Even at times you don’t see it or don’t understand why things are happening, God knows why and all you must do is trust him and trust the process. He is waiting for the right moment and preparing you for greater things.

What is your favorite activity or pastime that was not in your nomination?
Most definitely snow skiing! I enjoy being outside and love all seasons, but during the winter I love to go skiing when time allows.

3 Things on your bucket list
Three things on my bucket list are to travel and see the world, ride horses on the beach, and shark viewing from a helicopter.

What about you inspires others/why do you think you are inspiring?
No matter what I don’t give up on what I love. I believe I inspire others with my positivity and perseverance. I am a loyal friend, positive, confident, extremely organized, and sometimes over prepared.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us?
Coaching younger athletes is one of my favorite things to do. I get to coach the littles in our volleyball club during the beach season and indoor club season. I take pride in inspiring and coaching younger athletes.

Look for Teagan in issue 60 of Inspiring Teens Magazine!

click here for more information on issue 60

click here to nominate an inspiring teen